John Terrence "Terry" Dolan (1950 – December 28, 1986) was an American New Right political activist who was a co-founder and chairman of the National Conservative Political Action Committee (NCPAC).[1] Dolan was also, during the mid to late 1970s, in the leadership of Christian Voice, "the nation's oldest conservative Christian lobby".[2]
While Dolan was a proponent of family values and the organizations he led were persistently critical of gay rights, he was revealed to have been a closeted homosexual,[3] who frequented gay bars in Washington, D.C.[4] At a Washington fundraising event in 1985, the renowned AIDS activist Larry Kramer reportedly tossed a glass of water in his face.[5] Dolan died from complications of AIDS at the age of 36. He is one of many with panels dedicated to them (in his case three panels) in the AIDS Quilt.[6]
A native of Connecticut, Dolan became active in politics during his teens as a Republican volunteer. At age 21, he worked as a paid organizer in Richard Nixon's 1972 presidential re-election campaign.[7] The following year, he was a candidate for chairman of the College Republican National Committee but lost to Karl Rove.[8]
After Christian Voice co-founder Dr. Robert Grant ousted Dolan, Howard Phillips, and Richard Viguerie from the Christian Voice organization, the trio went on to help persuade Jerry Falwell to build a new Christian Right organization, the Moral Majority.
Dolan was later a co-founder and chairman of the National Conservative Political Action Committee (NCPAC).[1] He co-authored Reagan: A President Succeeds with Gregory Fossedal. His brother, Anthony R. Dolan, was also a political activist and Ronald Reagan's chief presidential speechwriter.
Dolan was a member of the Council for National Policy Board of Governors, a member of the advisory board for CAUSA International (an educational, anti-communist organization founded by Unification Church leader Sun Myung Moon),[9] [10] and Director of Conservatives Against Liberal Legislation (CALL).[11]